Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy hit back at former CNN host Don Lemon over Lemon's characterization of a clash between the two, which reportedly contributed to Lemon's firing from CNN.
"A few months ago Don Lemon tried to shut me up on air when I educated him on the 2nd amendment: ‘when you have black skin & you live in this country, then you can disagree with me.’ I dismantled his argument with facts & that exchange catalyzed his firing from CNN. Now he’s aggrieved and just called me a ‘liar, bigot, and insurrectionist,’" he said.
"He goes further & says ‘platforming’ people like me is ‘a dereliction of journalistic duty.’ Moral of the story: now that the R-word ("Racist") has entirely lost its meaning, they’ll just call you an insurrectionist instead," Ramaswamy continued.
The two clashed over the Second Amendment and the Civil war during an appearance on "CNN This Morning" in April.
"That war was fought for Black people to have freedoms in this country. Actually, that’s why the Civil War was fought," Ramaswamy said. "Actually, a funny fact is — Black people did not get to enjoy the other freedoms until their Second Amendment rights were secured."
"But Black people still aren’t allowed to enjoy the freedoms as well in this country," Lemon interjected.
Ramaswamy dismissed that claim outright, declaring, "I disagree with you on that Don… I think you’re doing a disservice to this country by failing to recognize the fact that we have equality before the laws here."
The anchor replied, "Well, OK. When you are in Black skin and you live in this country, then you can disagree with me."
Lemon has since said he doesn't believe in "platforming liars and bigots."
"I don't believe in platforming liars and bigots, and insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth; people who are fighting for what's right, people who are abiding by the Constitution," Lemon said after ABC24's Rudy Williams noted the exchange. "I think that would be a dereliction of journalistic duty to do those sorts of things. That has what has gotten me to this point, and that is what is going to carry me forward."
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"To know that I am standing up and abiding by the Constitution, which my profession demands that I do because we are listing in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which is freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press," Lemon told ABC24.
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Lemon also told the outlet that he was not going to "force anything" in terms of his next steps.
"I’m not gonna force anything," Lemon said. "I’m not gonna let others people’s timeline influence me. I know people say, ‘I miss you on television. What is your next move?’ I’m figuring that out. I don’t have to be in a rush. I think sometimes people rush to make decisions and they end up making the wrong decisions."
Fox News' Gabriel Hayes contributed to this report.
